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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27717980">The Problem With Pebbles</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainJZH/pseuds/CaptainJZH'>CaptainJZH</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety, Comedy of Errors, Female Friendship, Gen, Humor, Medicinal Drug Use, Some angst, Wacky Antics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:14:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27717980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainJZH/pseuds/CaptainJZH</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl has a problem, and Spinel knows exactly how to fix it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Pearl &amp; Spinel (Steven Universe)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Problem With Pebbles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Spinel hardly left Homeworld, since there was just so much to do — Yellow was always zapping some Gems into some weird size, Blue’s clouds were always a good way to get high and possessing White for a while was usually a good time. Lately, however, ever since Steven became corrupted some time ago, the Diamonds weren’t as </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun </span>
  </em>
  <span>as they used to be.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yellow worked a lot harder on reassembling broken Gems, Blue only used her clouds on Gems who </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> it and White got shaky whenever someone asked to possess her. Spinel, having done most of the “new” stuff to do on Homeworld, was getting bored. And when she got bored, well, her mind went crazy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had terrible thoughts — some were about hurting other people, some were about making herself hurt — but she’d learned to manage them better. The new Homeworld government had begun a “therapy” program, with specialized Gems that listened to other Gems’ problems.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spinel had gone a couple times, and was even allowed to bottle up BD’s clouds for later consumption — her “therapist” Gem told her that it would help with her “anxiety,” whatever that was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Well, she knew what it was supposed to refer to — that feeling that she was awful, that everyone hated her — but she was just so used to that feeling that it being given a </span>
  <em>
    <span>name </span>
  </em>
  <span>was so...alien.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spinel sat on a bench in Diamond Square, her spaghetti-like leg bouncing around as she tapped her hand against the armrest. The square was surrounded by all four Diamond ships, which admittedly felt intimidating to Spinel, despite her close relationship with them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her boredom was satiated, however, by the Galaxy Warp shimmering to life and Pearl arriving on the pad. She was carrying a number of important holosheets, of things that required Homeworld’s approval.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Spinel called out, zooming over to Pearl. “Long time, no see! Whatcha up to, Pearlie?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl sighed as she walked towards the headquarters of the new Homeworld government, which took up Pink Diamond’s old chambers. “Hello, Spinel. Earth requires some light terraforming, and unfortunately our two Lapis Lazulis are off-world, so…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...so you're seeing if ol’ B.Z. will spare some?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Pearl nodded. “Now normally I would go through the proper channels, but President Maheswaran needs them by tomorrow and well, we know how fast even a democratic bureaucracy is!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...Sure, yeah,” Spinel said, not really following along. “Wait, President </span>
  <em>
    <span>who?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh right, you haven’t visited in a while, Connie's on her second term now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh,” Spinel shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blue Zircon’s office was inside Pink’s old room, and it still suffered from a Pebble infestation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Zircon! Hey! Hey!” one of the Pebbles shouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stars, what is it?” Blue Zircon asked, her desk covered in holoscreens.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatcha doin?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to get my work done!” the beleaguered public official said, digging her hands into her hair. The Pebbles climbed into her desk, looking through her important files.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Madam Prime Minister?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>her secretary, a Topaz, chimed in over the intercom. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“The Crystal Gem Pearl and that Spinel are here to see you.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Send them in,” Blue Zircon sighed as the Pebbles climbed on top of her and into her hair.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello Zircon,” Pearl nodded politely.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Zircs!” Spinel waved. “How's the Prime Minister job treatin’ ya?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It's going…” Blue Zircon paused to remove a Pebble from her nose, “...well. What can I do for you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I'm sure you're aware of President Maheswaran’s Perfect Earth Initiative.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If you haven't noticed, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> pretty busy,” Blue Zircon said, gesturing to her holoscreens.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I'll keep it brief. Essentially, the nations of Earth have agreed to let the Crystal Gems workshop solutions to their Earthly problems, and we're going to need some Lapis Lazulis to help us filter pollution out of the oceans.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And your Lapis Lazulis…?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are offworld, vacationing on some jungle planet. The plan’s only been approved for this week, so we'd appreciate…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blue Zircon interrupted her: “Look, I have a full plate here, and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate</span>
  </em>
  <span> talking to Lapis Lazulis, so I can't really help you. Sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...What if we helped get rid of these Pebble guys for ya?” Spinel suggested.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blue Zircon snorted. “I'd love to see you try. I had a whole Aquamarine detachment in here and they couldn't do it!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Madame Prime Minister,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Topaz said over the intercom, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>it's time for your weekly Diamond Meeting.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blue Zircon stood up and began to walk out of the room. “If you can get these Gemforsaken Pebbles out of my room, I'll get you your Lapis Lazulis. I'll be back in an hour.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spinel looked at Pearl with a smug smile, hands exaggeratingly on her hips. “So, Pearlie, what do you say? You and me, catchin’ these little guys?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Pebbles were now climbing on top of Spinel, imitating her expression. Pearl looked at Spinel, then towards the door, and then thought about how disappointed Connie would be when it turned out her great big plan for Gems and humanity joining forces would have to be postponed (during which time public opinion on the plan could shift).</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine!” Pearl sighed. “But this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>idea.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spinel clapped her hands together and approached the hole in the wall that the Pebbles were popping out of. “Alright, we’ve both known these guys for thousands of years, right? So if we put our heads together, we might just catch ‘em all!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl put her hand to her chin. “Well, they aren’t very smart, that’s for sure.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spinel stuck her arm through the hole. “I bet if I just...stretched my arm all the way through...I can grab all of ‘em!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Spinel, wait!” Pearl said as a tiny horn was heard inside the wall.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Charge!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Pebbles cried out, running out through the hole and tackling Spinel to the ground. She tried to stretch her arms out to break free, but there were just too many of them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I take back what I said about them not being smart,” Pearl said with a chuckle.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A little </span>
  <em>
    <span>help?!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Spinel asked, struggling on the floor against the Pebbles.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl rolled her eyes and summoned her spear, firing a warning blast from its tip. The Pebbles scattered, running back into the wall.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Man, I dunno how Pinkie dealt with these things,” Spinel remarked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She didn’t,” Pearl recalled, like a soldier flashing back to the battlefield. “She just...let them roam free. It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>chaos. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Every day, the Pebbles would be wreaking havoc across this place. Nothing orderly. Everything...</span>
  <em>
    <span>asymmetrical.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That sure is a word I know the meaning of!” Spinel nodded. “So how do we get rid of the Pebbles?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>Gems just like us,” Pearl thought out loud. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What would make </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanna leave somewhere?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl thought for a moment, and then had an idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I need a Gem Destabilizer,” Pearl told the Amethyst in charge of the Homeworld armory.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” the Amethyst shrugged, “all material weapons can only go to members of the Homeworld Defense Squadron. Can’t just have any ol’ Gem get their hands on this stuff!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh,” Pearl groaned, “back in my day you could get any weapon you wanted on Homeworld by just finding the right Bismuth.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Them’s the breaks,” Spinel shrugged. “Guess we can’t zap the Pebbles.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Or can we…?” Pearl mused. “I think I know a Gem.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, can you help us out?” Pearl asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yellow Pearl sat at her desk, now in charge of Homeworld’s “visual entertainment network.” Behind her were a large number of screens, all showing the Homeworld dub of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crying Breakfast Friends </span>
  </em>
  <span>(which Steven had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>big part in localizing).</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Yellow Pearl said, a smug smile on her face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl looked at her former colleague, confused. “No?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I may have aided the Rebellion in the past, but that was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>loooong </span>
  </em>
  <span>time ago,” Yellow Pearl said. “I wouldn’t even know </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get a destabilizer these days!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I remember when you could get me </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pearl said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That was when I was in service to Yellow Diamond,” Yellow Pearl chuckled. “Ironically this democracy has stronger security than the dictatorship!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed,” Pearl sighed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Pearl exited into the hallway, she found Spinel chatting it up with Blue Pearl.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And then Comby came back asking if she could keep being a comb, and Bluey was all like ‘no, you must find your own path’ and Comby got sad,” Spinel said, catching Blue Pearl up on her former boss’ activities.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m told you need a destabilizer?” Blue Pearl asked, cocking her head at Pearl. Pearl nodded, and a smile appeared on Blue Pearl’s face. “Follow me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In Blue Pearl’s office (she was head of programming for the entertainment service), she opened a cabinet in her desk and revealed a gem destabilizer. It was rusty and ancient, but it worked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve had this since the middle of Era 2,” Blue Pearl explained. “I was planning to hand it over to the new government, but I...forgot!” She giggled at that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Blue,” Pearl nodded, heading out the door. “I can’t thank you enough!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And remember, don’t air that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crying Breakfast Friends</span>
  </em>
  <span> show too much!” Spinel warned as she followed Pearl out. “It gets kinda stale!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know how to handle one of these, right?” Pearl asked as Spinel stuck the destabilizer through the hole in the wall.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“One of these? Uh, yeah, sure, I totally got it,” Spinel said. “Activatiiiiing!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The destabilizer charged to life, zapping all of the Pebbles in the wall. Not enough to poof them, but enough for them to come running out in terror.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And good riddance!” Pearl shouted as the tiny Gems ran out of the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We did it!” Spinel said, leaping up into the air and pulling Pearl into a hug. “And B.Z. should be back any minute!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Spinel,” Pearl smiled. “I couldn’t have...wait, what’s that noise?” She heard a low rumbling noise underneath them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yo, BZ’s computer!” Spinel called out. “What’s up with the rumbling?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Power core overloading due to foreign electrical charge,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the computer said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Total destruction in one minute.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl and Spinel looked at each other, and then bolted from the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And I trust the new Homeworld Parliament is to your liking?” White Diamond asked. Blue Zircon stood before her, presenting to her the status of the government.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, but that’s democracy for you,” Blue Zircon joked. White Diamond politely laughed, not really getting the joke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>White Diamond then looked out the window of her chambers, spotting an explosion on the horizon. “Oh goodness, an explosion! And right where the new Prime Minister offices are!” she said, looking back at Blue Zircon. “And it looks like it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>destroyed! Why, what a shame!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blue Zircon’s eye twitched, her body collapsing to the floor soon after.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it looks like I’m not getting those Lapis Lazulis any time soon,” Pearl sighed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah geez, I really screwed up, didn’t I?” Spinel asked. “I shouldn’t’ve gotten myself mixed up in this, ugh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>why do I keep screwing up?!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl sat down next to Spinel. They were back in Diamond Square, sitting on a bench as emergency service Gems rushed by, to what used to be Blue Zircon’s offices.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Spinel,” Pearl said. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spinel was still fairly jittery, but she reached to her gem and summoned her bottle of Blue Diamond’s essence. She inhaled a little bit of it, calming her nerves a bit and bringing her back from the edge. “Sorry about that,” she said. “I get...like that sometimes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Feeling’s mutual,” Pearl chuckled. “I should be getting back, though. I have to tell Connie that she’ll have to postpone the Clean Ocean stage of the Perfect Earth Initiative.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait!” Spinel said, grabbing Pearl’s arm. It was instinctual, with feelings of abandonment flashing through her, even with Blue’s essence calming her down. “I mean, uh, wait, you said your Lapis friends were on some jungle planet somewhere?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spinel lit up. “I think I might know where they are!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lapis and Freckles sat on a tropical island, surrounded on all sides by bright blue water. Alien palm trees covered the island, with little alien creatures crawling around the place. Suddenly, a Roaming Eye landed in front of them, casting a shadow on the two terraformers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Spinel waved to Lapis and Freckles as the door swung open. “Yo, water ladies! We need ya!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, you two!” Pearl called out. “President Maheswaran requires your assistance!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Lapises shrugged and boarded the ship, warping off back to Earth. Spinel joined Pearl by the pilot’s seat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How’d you know they came here?” Pearl asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Pink used to mention a jungle planet Blue Diamond used to go to to relax, and she said it’s a popular vacation place for Gems these days,” Spinel said with a shrug. “Sorry I didn’t think of that </span>
  <em>
    <span>earlier, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but them’s the breaks.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl chuckled. “Thank you anyway, Spinel.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No prob, Bob!” Spinel nodded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s Pearl.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two Lapises giggled at that.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to E350tb for beta-reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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